MINNEAPOLIS -- Rakeem Buckles was hoping to follow Richard Pitino from Florida International to Minnesota. His plan has now hit a dead end.
The Gophers men's basketball team announced Tuesday that Buckles' appeal for immediate eligibility has been denied by the NCAA. Minnesota's original transfer waiver request was denied Aug. 28.
Buckles, a 6-foot-7, 215-pound forward, spent three seasons at Louisville and endured multiple knee injuries before transferring to FIU. He sat out the 2012-13 season due to NCAA transfer regulations and was hoping to be eligible to play immediately at Minnesota The hope was that because FIU had a postseason ban due to academic issues stemming from before Pitino's time that Buckles would be granted eligibility.
As the Gophers announced, however, that was not the case. Although Buckles signed a tender to play for the Gophers, he is not enrolled in school at the University of Minnesota.
Buckles averaged 4.0 points and 3.8 rebounds in the 2011-12 season a...

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